Thankfulness – An Attitude of Gratitude

 

 

 

If emotions could be bottled and sold, gratitude would fly off the shelves! People who express an abundance of thankfulness frequently experience a happiness “high” that can last for a long time. In the workplace, employees feel better when their boss expresses more gratitude for their efforts, and they even desire to work harder.

Leaders who desire to create grateful cultures often start by thanking their employees, and that’s a necessary step, but building grateful teams isn’t just a top-down job. Everyone in an organization feels and is responsible for a spirit of gratefulness. Friendliness and gratitude should flow from leaders to followers, followers to leaders, between peers, and from team members to customers and suppliers.

Our culture’s obsession with the “selfie” reflects an attitude of selfishness and self-centeredness over humility and kindness. However, studies have found that gratitude is associated with greater well-being. Grateful people experience inconveniences just like everyone else, but they tend to think of setbacks differently, reframing challenges in a positive light.

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

—Maya Angelou

Studies show that children who rate higher in gratitude tend to be happier and more engaged at school than their peers. They also give and receive more social support from family and friends. And they experience fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety while being less likely to display antisocial behaviors like aggression.

Students who were more grateful were also better at life management skills, like identifying important goals for the future. In addition, they enjoyed stronger relationships with their peers because their positive disposition made them more attractive and likable.  Peers perceived them as having a warmer personality and being more friendly and thoughtful.

For parents, a good way to encourage gratefulness is simply to set a better example (e.g., express thanks or gratitude daily to their spouse).

It’s also important for children and adults to acknowledge the often-unnoticed people who impact their lives, like the school secretary or janitor.

A grateful heart and an attitude of gratitude are rooted in being content with who we are, what we have, what we do, who created and loves us, and whom we trust. This contentment leads to having a generous heart and being a cheerful giver.

What are you grateful for today?

 

Gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,

chaos to order,

confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home,

a stranger into a friend.

Gratitude makes sense of our past,

brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

― Melody Beattie

 

Every person can live each day with a grateful heart by adopting a more abundant mindset.

People with an abundance mindset believe that today’s short-term pain, sacrifice, and investment in time, energy, and money, will eventually bring long-term growth, blessings, and success.

It turns out that people who adopt an abundance mindset, approach life, challenges, and opportunities in a principled way that literally paves the way for them to succeed.

 

The following reflect key attributes of abundant  thinkers:

Enough for Everyone

Abundant thinkers know there is enough in the world for everyone to share in a piece of the pie.

They understand that the more you share in a principled way, the more the abundance grows.

 

Don’t Compare with Others

Abundant thinkers don’t compare themselves with others – only with themselves.

They set realistic goals and then work to achieve them. Plus, they encourage others to do the same.

Their goals are based (in a principled way) upon a logical study of achievable results in each step.

 

Win/Win

Abundant thinkers find common ground with their colleagues. They know that unresolved conflict is wasted time and energy and subtracts from an abundant environment.

They see win-win and assume that there is a way for all concerned to profit and thrive. They understand that constructive criticism (in a principled way) helps others to grow.

 

Gratitude

Abundant thinkers live lives of gratitude for the abundance of the world in which they live.

They are positive and upbeat. To them, life is a continuously replenished bowl of fruit – all ripe for the taking.

They teach others how to be positive and to live in gratitude.

 

Throughout scripture, we are encouraged to be thankful:

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 

for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.    Psalm 107:8-9 NIV

 

Give Time, Talent, and Treasures

Abundant thinkers know that giving their time, talent, and treasures will come back to them in so many ways, thus increasing the abundance in their own lives.

This principled process strengthens and fosters team-building and creative thinking that supports continual improvement.

 

What do those closest to you say about your attitude? Is your gratefulness evident to everyone around you? Please share your comments <here> and share this blog post with a friend or co-worker.